A. Purpose -A statewide Hospital Discharge Data System (HDDS) is one of the most important tools for addressing a broad range of health policy issues, including the improvement of the quality and efficiency of medical care. "Discharge data" is defined as the consolidation of complete billing, medical, and personal information describing a patient or resident, the services received, and charges billed for a single hospital stay. The requirements for the collection and submission of data as described shall also apply to those non-federal acute care hospitals located in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee. Data submitted by these non- Mississippi hospitals shall relate exclusively to those patients who are Mississippi residents.